Machines for making cotton candy are very well known in the art. The machines operate by placing a quantity of granulated sugar into a bowl which is heated and spun at high speed so that as the sugar melts, fine strands are formed within the spinning bowl. Typically, a rod made of stiff paper or the like is inserted into the bowl so that the strands of sugar accumulate on the rod which is twisted so as to form a ball or column of spun sugar which has the appearance of cotton.
In some cases, rather than granulated sugar, candy balls can be utilized. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0031527 (Koike et al.) is an example of a cotton candy machine in which candy balls can be utilized. The machine operates by, after placing the candy balls into a cup 57, a disk shaped cover 5 is lowered to a closed state. At this time, a power switch is turned on causing a heating plate 40 to be heated to a high temperature so as to melt the candy balls. After the candy balls have been melted, the melted candy is forced by centrifugal force by the rotation of the melting cup through an ejection gap into a tray 4. After a period of time, the motor is stopped, and the cover 5 is raised to bring the cotton candy machine to an open state so that floss formed in the tray 4 can be collected.
Although Koike et al. discloses a cotton candy machine which is capable of utilizing candy balls rather than granulated sugar to make the cotton candy, it has a complicated structure which requires a cover 5 to be closed over a cup used to melt the candy balls. Further, the Koike et al. device does not appear to be easily convertible to operate as a standard cotton candy machine using granulated sugar instead of hard candy.